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Are well-intending Jews feeding a vicious-cycle? Public pressure to free Israeli hostages ups enemy's price, contradicts Jewish law

The family of an Israeli-American teen believed to have been abducted in the West Bank says it has received an outpouring of support from friends and family back in the U.S. Naftali Frenkel is believed to have been abducted late Thursday with two other teens, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, as they were hitchhiking home from a school in the West Bank.
Since then, Israel has been on a furious search for the boys, arresting dozens of members of the militant group Hamas, which Israel’s prime minister says is behind the kidnapping. The teens have not been heard from.
US Jews pray for Israeli abductees' safety at L.A's Cong Beth Jacob. on Sun 15 June

Frenkel’s grandparents moved to Israel from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1956. Although Fraenkel, 16, was born and raised in Israel, he paid brief visits to the U.S. while growing up, said his aunt, Ittael Fraenkel.She said most of his cousins, aunts and uncles live in the U.S., mostly in the Monsey and Flatbush areas of Brooklyn as well as in upstate New York and other parts of the state. 


Frenkel’s family affirmed its trust in Israel’s rescue efforts and expressed gratitude for the nationwide support. The story has generated round-the-clock news coverage, and more than 10,000 people gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem late Sunday to pray for the teens’ safety.



Prayers for the welfare of America & Israel

As the search entered its fourth day, the ordeal continued to capture national attention with nearly nonstop updates by Israeli media.
Naftali Fraenkel and his six siblings are American citizens. His aunt confirmed the family has been in contact with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. - Voz is Neiaz June 16, '14

Israel National News reports that the IDF arrested over 80 Hamas terrorists overnight Saturday in Judea and Samaria, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Office, as part of the wide-scale operation to find three youths. According to a military source, as quoted by Channel 10, several of the arrested were reportedly members of the "unity" government sworn in earlier this month.

The source also indicated that a large number of paratroopers and Nahal brigade soldiers had been dispatched in the region. 

Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pegged Hamas as being behind the kidnappings of Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha'ar and Naftali Frenkel, the three teens who were apparently snatched or otherwise enticed to enter a vehicle as they were hitchhiking in Gush Etzion Thursday night. Hamas has denied the allegations. 
Hamas terrorists celebrating (Photo IDF Blog)

Hamas' top leadership today is comprised of terrorists who have been “in the field” for several years, who were recently joined by older terrorists who were released from Israeli prisons in the swap deal that released Gilad Shalit. Many of those terrorists joined Hamas' Izz-a-din al-Kassam brigades, and that faction is led by two released Shalit prisoners, Yahay Sanwer and Ruhi Mushtaha. 
Noam, father of kidnapped draftee, Gilad Shalit, mounted a pressure
 campaign in '11 to force Netanyahu to capitulate to release terrorists
The Israeli and Jewish press are sensationalizing this kidnapping into a frenzy reminiscent of that stirred-up by Gilad Shalit's family in 2010-11. The lessons of that lopsided, prisoner-exchange (1027 Palestinian security prisoners released) which contributed to this (and other prior, thwarted kidnapping attempts) are being forgotten.  

Rabbi Zvi Block of Toras Hashem in Los Angeles explained in JooTube at the time of the Shalit deal how the Rambam forbids prisoner exchanges in cases where the released prisoners are apt to commit crimes in the future.


Rabbi Block explains the prohibition of getting your captive released in exchange for a terrorist who might cause the suffering of another person - the guilt for which would be upon those involved in that deal.  

In "A kidnapping with origins in the Shalit deal" in The Times of IsraelAvi Issacaroff analyzes

If Hamas is found to be responsible for an incident of this gravity, Israel is unlikely to exercise restraint. That could mean the targeting of Hamas leaders in Gaza, and the arrests of Hamas leaders in the West Bank. And that, in turn, would likely bring a Hamas response, including rocket fire from Gaza on Israel cities including Tel Aviv. So Israel could easily find itself embroiled in a strategic upsurge of hostility that would reshape the security environment for some years. Read more

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